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One thing I’ve heard repeated frequently from pregnant mummy friends is that it’s not as much fun to dress little boys. A lot of shops admittedly seem to give up on boys’ clothes, filling the rails of the girls’ aisles with pretty prints and classic shapes, so that you don’t have to spend a lot to dress girls classically and beautifully. For the boys, however, there might be a few pairs of tracksuit bottoms, with a tacky embroidered logo on the pocket for good measure, and a couple of different choices of T-Shirts with neon cartoon characters emblazoned across them. So no; it isn’t always easy to shop for boys, but if you shop in the right places, it really can be just as much fun to dress them.

Here are my favourite places to shop for my boys. All 6 are available in the UK and 4 are available in the UAE (I highly recommend getting yourself a Shop & Ship account if you don’t already have one so you can ship the other 2 too).

1 – ETSY. This online marketplace has a bit of a reputation for crafty, homemade buys – but you can pop anything into the search engine and discover some very cool buys for boys. The above three buys are all by UK sellers (Top, Leggings, and Downloadable Print) and cost very little. I’ve just ordered Wilfred this pair of leggings and another covered in monsters, oops. Shop here.

2 – H&M. You need to hunt through the rails of H&M to find the best bits, but I have dressed my boys from this store since they were a couple of months old. I usually go for the simple basics. Don’t expect them to last too long, as you get what you pay for in terms of quality. Shop the UK online store here. View the UAE collection here.

3 – NEXT. I’m a sucker for Next. I like the simplicity of a lot of their clothes and I love the fact that things are always comfortable. I don’t know about you, but I just can’t bear to put the boys in scratchy clothes that I would never dream of wearing against my own skin. The prices are very good too. Shop the UK online store here. Shop the UAE online store here.

4 – OFFICE. I get all Stanley’s shoes from Office. He lives in TOMS and Converse, which look cool but also support his feet. The TOMS are especially good, as he’s very independent, meaning he can put them on and take them off himself. If we lived in the UK, he would also be wearing Timberlands. Shop the UK online store here.

5 – GAP KIDS. Oh I love GAP Kids. Such simple, stylish pieces for boys. I just wish it was a bit cheaper, especially in Dubai where everything is inflated by another 30% – I just can’t bring myself to spend the equivalent of £30 on a pair of shorts. When the stuff goes on sale, however, I’m the first through the door. The 2-for-1 T-Shirt deals are also brilliant. Shop the UK online store here. Head into store if you are in the UAE.

6 – ZARA KIDS. Also a bit pricey, but really lovely for the odd piece for your boys’ wardrobes. There’s a real mixture of classic and quirky. The store is especially lovely when boys are teeny – and make sure you pop into Zara Home too, for the irresistible choice of baby blankets. Shop the UK online store here. Head into store if you are in the UAE.

Does your little boy wear TOMS shoes? I love this brand – and here are five reasons why…

1. One for One

In 2006, TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie befriended children in a village in Argentina and saw that they didn’t have adequate shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS Shoes, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes for a child in need. Since then, TOMS has given more than 10 million pairs of new shoes to children in need. So buying them is charity; what better excuse do we need?!

2. They look good

So simple, but stylish. They look great with shorts, jeans, or comfies. They come in a range of different colours, with limited edition prints and fabrics (a few of my recent favourites include skull print and denim).

3. They are so easy to put on

When you have a toddler, the easier to get shoes on and off the better – so the quick velcro fastening is a real bonus. They’re so easy that my two-year old is nearly able to put them on and off himself (we’re not quite there, but it wont be long).

4. They are robust

My toddler is pretty active as little ones go – and considering he wears his TOMS almost every day, they still look good as new. He’s jumped in puddles, landed in piles of dust at the end of slides, skipped across grass, and played in sandpits – but there’s barely a mark on them.

5. They come in adult sizes too

Always a bonus when you can match!

Oh and they are currently on sale at Office.co.uk, so I’ve stocked up on a few pairs in the next size up! Shop here!

Let me know if you buy a pair – I’d love to see a picture of your little people rocking their TOMS!